Knit & Ski or Ski & Knit

A traditional Norwegian drop shoulder sweater using Bartlett sport weight yarn, EZ's percentage system, and motifs from a variety of sources.

2/16/18 Time for a blog post.  Our ski race for this weekend was postponed until next weekend due to our charming weather out here on the edge of the Bering Sea.  It never fails . . . when I felt the most organized for a ski race ever!  Bering Air said, "We haven't flown into Koyuk since last Friday, we are not flying in now due to weather: snow, blowing snow, and the death of airlines: Freezing Rain!  Now I will be honest, the last place I want to be stuck with 16 middle school kids is Koyuk!

2/17/18 Staying home and weathering out the storm in my HOUSE sounds like a grand idea.  Only the storm hasn't been bad other than a lot of wind today which is Saturday.  Our first ski practice of the day was with the elementary ski crew grades 1st through 4th. A competent group of young skiers had the great joy of tackling winds over 20 mph.  UGH!  No matter what this is one of the hardest places to try to be skiers.  Between, winds, overflow, storms, cold, and lack of new snow for long stretches . . . we keep the village kids skiing.

Groomed and skiers skiing up Picnic Hill a long climb that is really fun to blast down!

The girls sitting and listening to the kids who are way down at the bottom that came out to ski on their own.  As you can see we groom and ski the drifts as the tundra doesn't hold much snow in winds over 30mph.

My husband who grooms for us.  We use an Arctic Cat BearCat and a YTS groomer.

This is Round About that we ski out to most days. I have started to call this "Candy Land." It looks like the game board when we get all the colorful cones and hoops set up for the skiers to use for games which build skills.

This would be "overflow" usually we ski across this area but on Wednesday we had a water obstacle to add more fun or is that challenges to our skiing.

Our older skiers which we call race Team.  This is part of the crew we travel to ski races with.

Knitting . . . I am loving my sweater which I named Winter Solstice.  The motifs are coming together nicely and I enjoy planning as I knit.  The overall theme of this piece is winter, snow, mountains, and cross-country skiing.  Each motif has a meaning that relates to the theme.  I have tried it on a few times and I can not say enough why this is so important!  I place the body on two long circular needles and slip it on.  I have been able to correct most sizing errors using this method. Trying on your knitting and measuring it all the time is really important I think to have a successful and wearable knitted item.

Village Happenings:  We have clean running water again.  Some major leaks have been found and work will be done on those in the spring or summer.  There is still a huge hole out by our place and that will be there for some time I know!  We have the Iron Dog Race about to arrive early this week.  The largest event the Iditarod Dog Sled Race will be arriving in March.

Our daylight is lengthening to over 9 hours of daylight and increasing daily.  Our daylight even seems longer as sunrise and sunset are rather exaggerated this far north.  The daily colors that greet us in the sky are just stunning!  We are lucky to have these stunning northern colors close our days, too.

Wool . . . Knitting Update!

Mittens! Who doesn't love a great pair of hand-knit mittens? I just knitted up a wonderful pair of mittens from this book: Norwegian Mittens and Gloves, by Annemor Sundbø.  I added my own twist to the thumbs as I love a hidden message.  I used Bartlett Sport weight yarn in a rich blue called "Corn Flower" and "Light Sheep Gray."  Bartlett yarns would be described by many as "rustic." I use the Spanish word "ganas" meaning balls however to me it means tough, workhorse yarn that once blocked blooms into a great "hand" a term us knitters of 100% wool get!  This is a yarn that will stand the test of time. It has a great price point for the quantity and quality of yarn you receive.  I have been knitting with this yarn in a variety of weights over the years and it is a favorite of mine.

Mitten #1 on needles and chart highlighted to keep me on track.

I did added two rounds after the ribbing for a bit more length.

Mitten #1 off needles and the fit is perfect.

Mitten #2 on needles with the dark nights/days as we head into the Solstice.

Mittens are done and looking forward to thumbs.

Palm sides and this is when I thought, "I don't really want to knit that palm pattern any more time for a secret personal tough message!"

Done!  Ends need to be woven in and mittens are off for a nice warm wool wash bath!

Are you yarning, Mrs. P?

I was sitting at my desk this morning before the "official class start." Kids come into the room to grab their bags to put their outdoor gear in as a protection against the joys of bedbugs. One of my little charges came up to me as I was knitting and watching Salomon TV (nordic skiing videos on my smartboard).  "Are you yarning Mrs. P?"  I stopped and laughed to myself and replied, "Well, yes I am yarning."

Last night while I was yarning, I realized I am no longer in love with a project (Carraig-Fhada Vest, AKA Ol'Blue).  I stopped knitting and sent a text to my dear yarning friend and told her I hate this @#$@$##%$%^ project and I think it is time to frog it.  She did suggest setting it aside.  Which I had already done.  Then she said well couldn't you just EZ (Elizabeth Zimmermann) it and make it work . . . thinking a bit about this other than I would have to purl to do colorwork.  H m m m m . . . .

I basically have bailed on the present "yarning" project and decided to return to the roots of my "yarning" that would be the traditional Norwegian sweater or an Icelandic Lopi.  I just mailed off a Lopi that I just finished to one of "My Knit Girls."  I haven't had a Norwegian on my needles for some time!

This is the repaired and Wool Washed sweater from the previous post Proud Auntie. The sweater came out great and is back on a very Knit Worthy younfggal.

Felted slipper/sock, unspun Icelandic Wool: this was an experiment which came out pretty good.  I would make the cuff a bit taller next time and knit the next pair with a single strand of unspun.

Lopi on its new owner!  She is thrilled with it and I am thrilled as it fits!  I kept thinking it would be too small.  I knitted this as an EZ percentage system and of course, it fits perfectly.  I will have another photo of her outside with her new Lopi.

I have been ordering some yarn to experiment with for a few sweaters for ME!  This yarn is from Schoolhouse Press and is Briggs and Little.  I have knitted this yarn several times and as people say today it is rustic.  For me, it is real yarn that stands the test of time and only becomes better as it is used!

The morning I was asked if I am "YARNING!" Tea is always a must during the work day and a bit of yarn for the creative juices.

I called in the Norwegians to help me plan for my next sweater for me! I often design as I knit.  I love looking at different motifs as I create with yarn on my needles.

This is a long time favorite of mine and one of the most knitted Norwegian sweaters.  Designed by Stein Eriksen's mother.

Stein Eriksen in his famous sweater the Marius design. 

Stein Eriksen ski legend!

Yarn from Bartlett Yarns which is produced in Maine in a very old mill.  I love their simple yarns and their rich wooliness!

I struggle with colors and what I think will look great often doesn't work. I had picked some colors that just wash each other out.  In this swatch, there are several color combos that just didn't work.

In the end, I knitted a speed swatch which I learned from Knitting With Two Colors. This is a Norwegian motif I was just testing the color combo I will be knitting for my sweater.  A great source for color work is Mary Jane Mucklestone's books.

A speed swatch is done on circular needles and is just that a fast swatch.  I do know the next time I will make it larger but the goal for this one was to see the see the color combo I have picked together one more time before casting on!

Waving good-bye a frozen starfish on our beach.  In the fall we often have hundreds of starfish on the beach frozen in time.

Yes, I have been "YARNING" a lot lately! 

Knitting for "The Knit Girls"

I have a crew of girls I knit for and they are awesome young gals!  I love to knit for them for several reasons.  They wear what I knit to the point of wearing the items out.  This is not because they are rough they just use what I knit!  Like one of them says, "Wool keeps me the warmest!"  Many people never ever learn this simple truth!  They come up with it itches, it is too hot, it is too difficult to wash . . . like EZ would state (rephrased): "Be glad you weren't born in the middle ages you would never have made it to adulthood!"  To me, there is wool and only 100% wool!  The girls needed mittens and in about 10 days I knitted up 3 pairs of mittens!  I am now pretty sure I have this pattern memorized and could knit a pair of mittens up pretty darn fast if needed.

Up to the stash for some great Bartlett 100% wool. A small pot f tea, cast-on and time to knit away!

Pair #1 . . .

Done!

Pair #2

Knit Girls at the end of the summer vacation party with fiddles in hand.

Solar eclipse in Oregon

Pair three I guess I didn't take any photos of you!  Sorry and the 4th pair I had knitted years ago and never wore them so they went to their equally wonderful mom!   Mittens---done & thank you for helping me procrastinate over the Faire Isle Vest I have named Ol'Blue!

The Tomten Adventure #1

The first Tomten is just about done!  I had to order some buttons and those should be here next week (I hope).  I went with some nice simple wooden buttons that I bought on Etsy and the bonus is I was able to get 50 of each design for a killer price!

These buttons came from Buttons Craft.  I like that they are simple, made out of wood and the price was perfect!  Another plus is you could use either side.

The first Tomten has come out great!  Two areas that I will change just a tad will be the arm hole depth and my gauge is really 4.5 sts to an inch so that will be adjusted on #2 which will be for the oldest of the grand nieces.

I am knitting a crochet button band which I really like!  I like the ease, and texture this simple button band offers.  I really could not bring myself to knitting an icord!

I did line the inside cuffs with Ultra Alpaca and the icord on the top of the collar is the same nice Alpaca yarn.

Tomten a Rather HUGE Under Taking

I have a niece who I just love and I also am rather taken by the fact that she doesn't want to raise her family in the traditional middle of the road way.  I am very proud of her efforts in today's world to try to break the mold and step out in a different direction.  I give her and her family a lot of credit. I know it isn't easy and I know it is very challenging for them.  This winter they had all intentions to be on their land and living there off the grid as they get ready to build.  Things didn't work out as they had hoped.  They were able to move into a yurt and make some adjustments to their goal.

My goal is to make sure they have enough 100% WOOL to stay warm up in the mountains on the Olympic peninsula.  They have hats, fingerless mittens, and some of my older knitted socks that felted and were a bit of an experiment which make for great kid slippers in my mind and lucky in theirs as well!

Back to the Tomten Project:  This knitted jacket/sweater is one I have wanted to knit forever!  I have loved the simple design and the high functionality of this sweater.  I have always thought of it as the going out to the barn to work type of garment.  Now if only, I had a barn, and flock of sheep to go with my half Akbash, Sadie, the guardian dog . . . awh would life be for ever perfect!

The photo is from Schoolhouse Press Pattern #19

Since my niece and her girls are in a rather cold, damp place I figured they each needed a Tomten!  Thus the rather HUGE UNDERTAKING on my part but one I am loving.  FOUR, yes that is right FOUR Tomtens!  THREE of which will be kids and one adult.  I have so much yarn in the stash that is left over from projects that I am almost finished with the first one.  I Tomtens in garter sts just eat up yarn which is just perfect for stash busting.

I am trying to figure out the decreases for sleeves. What does 13.5 inches of sleeve length really look like when one is knitting a Tomten as the body is a bit of the sleeve length? 

Some photos to show the progress of Tomten #1.

I am using yarn from Schoolhouse Press Rangeley Wool.  I like adding a slip sts into the color work to give a nice transition between color rounds.

Lower body color work.

The fronts and back are done and this is the sleeve opening.

The collar is completed and the sleeve sts have been picked up and knitted a bit.

A nice little detail is added to the lower sleeve area for a bit of eye pleasing texture.